The Longest Night
by No.13
Summary: A mad alchemist is on the loose, Riza disappears and Edward tries to settle matters via one reckless transmutation. Told from Al's POV
1. Chapter 1

**The Longest Night**

I.

- Once upon an evening dreary –

* * *

A priori:

- characters not mine

- beware bad grammar and strange expressions

That said, please grab some chocolate, sit back and enjoy this product of my overactive imagination.

* * *

A scream; shrill and fearful.

"They're here!" Breda yelled, twisting around with unexpected agility, running down the staircase leading into the mansion's cellar. Boots stomping, armour clunking – all droned out by the frantic pleading of my heart.

"_Let them be alright, please, let them…"_

But nothing could dispel the gruesome pictures my mind supplied me with – images of brother lying face-down in an ever-growing pool of blood or worse…

Corridors should never stretch that far, should never be that dark or worn-down.

Falman, already hot our heels, unchecked his gun. "Careful! They've got hostages!"

Oh, like any of us could ever forget THAT.

"_Dear God, what is to come, I hope, I wish, just this once, even if…"_

Worry in Havok's eyes, sweat on Fury's face. Heart beating a mile a second, exhaustion tearing on tense nerves. Anticipation clouded my judgement, only desperation, sheer desperation to find out, what was awaiting us further down.

If hope or nightmares prevailed…

* * *

Two days ago, Lieutenant Hawkeye had mysteriously disappeared.

One day later, Ni-san hadn't come home in the evening.

Today, Colonel Mustang hadn't turned up in the office, only given a ring, relayed an address and hung up hurriedly.

He'd sounded shaken up, Fury had said. Badly so.

And whatever could faze someone as calm as the Colonel inevitably scared me. Not only me, though. Everyone had looked so fearfully pale, standing motionlessly in an empty office and feeling frighteningly displaced with the lack of familiar faces – a lack of people confident enough to take charge; seemed as if somebody suddenly had pulled the ground out from underneath our feet and left us hanging in limbo - hardly daring to draw a breath.

What should we do – the question nobody dared to voice.

Logically, yes, there were a lot of things we ought to have done. Contacted Mustang's superior officers, filed missing person reports for Hawkeye and Ed – yet in my eyes this was unhelpful bureaucracy.

Wouldn't calm my mind, wouldn't smother the worries, wouldn't quell the rumours.

Lieutenant Hawkeye had been working on a case concerning the sudden appearance of chimera carcasses – illegal transmutations by some mad alchemist, disgusting but not too disturbing to the outsider…

Far too disturbing for anyone who had been involved with the Tucker case. Anyone who'd seen Nina's tragic fate, had noted General Gran's degree of involvement…

It hadn't been a surprise, really, how serious Hawkeye took that case. How deeply even the Colonel and my brother became involved – until their disappearances, that is.

Had I had a body, I'd have been shivering.

It had been Lieutenant Havok who levelled a careless glance at the grey skies outward, frowned and said, acting unconcerned:

"Looks like it's going to rain. Colonel will be useless then – guess we should better give him a hand…"

* * *

We all followed. No commanding officers were informed, no back-up required.

Not even the entire army united behind my back could have provided relief. No matter how powerful their weapons, how vast their numbers… Not, when Mustang had sounded so scared on the phone. When the strongest people I knew had all gone missing without a trace, when I had such a bad feeling about this.

Stormy autumn skies greeted us outside, bleak landscapes and the door behind me fell shut with an odd sense of finality.

* * *

Another scream cut through the broken-down building, echoing through empty halls and well worn rooms lacking every trace of furniture or human inhabitants.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Shrill with desperation, frantic and sounding so awfully young. Edward's voice, and my heart faltered. Fear cursed through me, slowing my steps; and in horror, Breda too, did gasp.

"That's…"

" STOOOOOOOOP THAT! STOP! STOP! PLEASE STOP THIS!!!"

Completely horrified I was reminded of the only other time when brother's voice had been that frantic; reduced to begging and screaming…

"_GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!"_

NO. Nononononono… DON'T!

Blood across my mind's eye, darkness and smoke intruding in my vision; memories refusing to be suppressed, wrapping themselves around my consciousness, rendering me almost immobile.

_Dear god, please! Please let ni-san be alright, please let this be just a nightmare, please let me wake up, wake up, wake up, please… _

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Chalk-white, Falman brushed past me, gun raised and next thing I knew, the door exploded inwards. A wall of smoke and a rain of wood splinters, a cacophony of voices assaulting my ears, pictures playing in my head, mocking me with horrible scenarios, suggesting moving shapes in the smoke, a tilting of the ground and I felt dizzy.

"Colonel!" Fury yelled and I turned, frightened by the shock in his voice, yet unable to quench a spark of hope at the familiar term.

Laughter from another end of the room, somebody roared, yet I had no ears or eyes for anything; frantically searching for my brother…

A clang and the Lieutenant sank to his knees besides an unmoving lump in blood-stained rags, hardly a trace of clear blue visible anymore. Liquid squeaked under Fury's soles and with growing horror I beheld the spreading pool of blood underneath the still body. Calm, unfazed Colonel Mustang had been reduced to some grotesque parody of a broken doll, motionless, white-faced but for those dripping red streaks, not even a reaction to the hand gently shaking his shoulder.

If Mustang was like this, my brother…

Darkness surged up.

"It's done! DONE! DONE!"

Yelling in the background, echoing wildly, spinning; hollow and insane.

I felt as if I was falling, a huge, bottomless pit opened up within me, blackness, blackness and nothing more, the picture blurring in front of my eyes, until a hoarse voice summoned me back more brutally than any slap could ever have done.

"I won't …"

Ni-san.

Barely standing upright, shoulders hunched and his back turned to us.

I doubted he had even noticed the door being blown of his hinges, but my heart froze as I saw him swaying, raising a blood-stained hand away from where it had been pressed against his side.

Red liquid coloured the floor beneath him, too, and I had almost missed the white chalk lines, invisible beneath rubble and liquid.

A transmutation circle.

My nonexistent heart stopped beating.

An insane maniac, laughing his head of in face of all the destruction, and another… no, what…

"….never be undone! AHAHAHAHA!"

A gasp I never should have heard caught my attention, freezing my blood with silence and dreadful foreboding.

Falman shuddered, losing composure all of a sudden. Eyes widening drastically, tears of incredulousness mixed with sheer horror shining in his eyes.

"Riza…?"

What….?

Fearfully, horrified, I turned my head, slowly, painfully slow, already afraid of whatever sight would meet my eyes; nonexistent heart shuddering to a painful stop.

Darkness there, darkness, smoke; rubble and blood and chalk on the ground; and something was moving.

"What…?" Fury had turned, too. Glasses askew on his nose, shivering, clinging to his gun.

"YOU CAN'T!" Background noises, all that inane yelling; unimportant when I tried so hard to discern what was hidden by fog and rubble, terrified beyond imagination, not even daring to think on it.

Reality could surpass every nightmare; a situation this cruel shouldn't exist, shouldn't come to pass, shouldn't…

Havoc took a step forward.

"Riza?"

And whatever that thing was, it rose its head, soulful eyes glancing in our direction. Fair hair, four legs and a tail.

A chimera.

Dear God, the rumours had been true.

Falman dropped his gun, I heard a choked scream from Havok, malicious laughter swelling, the world spinning.

Denial and disbelief rushed through my veins, deafening my thoughts, freezing my heart. Couldn't, shouldn't be true; not possible; only a dream, a nightmare; I had to be sleeping. Had to, no other possibility, no other rational explanation; this would never happen in reality; not to Lieutenant Hawkeye, not, never, no….

But, dear God, it did.

_It did and it's real, and oh my God, we can't undo this, can't turn it back, can't help, we're too late, can't safe her; not after everything she's done for us and we can't; too stupid, too late, too…_

Just once, can't I wake up, now, just for once let this really be a nightmare, just this once?

Sad, intelligent eyes gazing into our direction, head bowed in regret and a soft voice whispered:

"Kill me, please."

And suddenly Edward was there, screeching: "I WON'T!!!"

Clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground.

* * *

That's it for today…

Hope you enjoyed reading!


	2. Chapter 2

The Longest Night

II.

- Regards from a Nightmare –

A priori:

- characters not mine

- beware bad grammar and strange expressions

That said, please grab some chocolate, sit back and enjoy this product of my overactive imagination.

I came around, at what must have been only seconds later, in a haze of smoke, with people stumbling above, coughing and muttering to each other. Confusion hung heavily in the air, with whispers of "what" "How?" and other questions being asked.

A shuffle, and two sets of footsteps approached me, one heavy and dragging. Harsh breathing, and then a familiar voice asked: "Alphonse?"

Unusually shaky and hoarse, but there was no mistaking the Colonel's voice. Looking up, I saw him being half-carried by Lieutenant Havok, face as white as a ghost and uniform torn beyond salvation. Blood dripped freely from his limp left arm and his eyes were glazed.

Standing upright he looked even worse than before; no shadows to hide the painful injuries anymore.

A sudden bout of concern rose up, but his voice stopped me short.

"Edward is … is ..."

Weakly, he raised his head, trying to gaze through the smoke and I followed his eyes, heart clenching. My mind cleared at once, and I started blindly to scramble over to where I had last seen my brother.

"Edward!"

Another voice, clear, resonant and choked with worry.

"Riza…" ,the Colonel whispered, disbelief further emphasizing his poor condition. Still, a shadow of a smile ghosted over his face, before eyelids fluttered shut and his body went completely limp.

"Edward! Ed! Come on!"

The smoke cleared away, revealing a perfectly human and healthy Lieutenant Hawkeye, kneeling the middle of one intricate, blood-splattered array, clutching my brother's motionless body.

Never in my life had I seen Riza Hawkeye so close to tears. And no words could ever describe the feelings paralysing myself at that moment.

I couldn't even begin to grasp the implications.

"Edward! Please!"

My mind blacked out.

She shook him desperately and his head rolled back; lifeless, like a doll. Ni-san looked so frighteningly small and fragile cradled in the Lieutenant's arms, helpless with all the blood splattered on his face.

Like the child he was.

For a split second I realized, I, too, had somehow become blinded by the strong front he presented. Come to believe that my older brother was an adult.

Yet, for all his accomplishments, strength and determination, Edward, like me, is hardly more than a child.

"Please!"

A last shake, but no reaction. Desperate brown eyes turned into my direction, a frown, than Hawkeye pulled herself together. Still, she couldn't keep her voice from shaking.

"Fury! Get over here!"

I didn't understand. What was …

And then she lowered Ni-san's body on the ground. With his eyes closed and face relaxed, brother looked far too peaceful. Not even in sleep…

My stomach plummeted, the ground disappearing from beneath my feet.

"NO!" I yelled in my head, incapable of finding my voice. Unwilling to believe what I saw.

"One, two…"

Hawkeye was counting, a fierce look of determination on her face, but I hardly heard or saw anything, eyes having become fixed to Ed's motionless hand resting upturned on the ground. The glove was bloody, torn, but still…

"…seven, eight…"

So small, it just wasn't fair, we were still so young, we only wanted to help, we hadn't ever…

"Again!"

…please God, if you or something like you does exist, please, now, I will do anything…

"…four, five…"

Bloodstains, bloodstains, what do I have to do? Equal trade, it is, equal trade; only gods care about good intentions and I know the gate doesn't, what could I do, what will I do, if…

"…eight, nine…"

I know it was a human transmutation, I know about the exchange rules, I know, I know, I know, but why, why, why does it have to be so hard a price? Why did Ed…

Why did he have to die?

That's it for today…

Hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**The Longest Night**

III.

- A fateful question –

* * *

A priori:

- characters not mine

- beware bad grammar and strange expressions

That said, please grab some chocolate, sit back and enjoy this product of my overactive imagination.

_

* * *

_

_I know it was a human transmutation, I know about the exchange rules, I know, I know, I know, but why, why, why does it have to be so hard a price? Why did Ed…_

A twitch and I sank down from relief.

Lieutenant Hawkeye sat back, white-faced but hopeful. Fury copied her movements and I heard the most wonderful sound I ever heard.

A ragged breath, drawn shakily and uneven, but oh so clearly alive.

"Thank God…" Fury muttered, collapsing in on himself.

In a split second I was at my brother's side, for the first time taking in his far too pale complexion, the shadows underneath his eyes and the sharp contours of protruding cheekbones.

Hawkeye, too, needed a moment to gather her bearings, before straightening up. Turned to Havok, supporting an unconscious Colonel Mustang.

"Get him to hospital! And tell them to send medical personal over here! Hurry!"

"Yes m'am!"

I turned away to glance at Ni-san once more, just to make sure, he was still alive and breathing and my confounded brain hadn't only clung on to a wistful scenario. But there were half-lidded golden eyes looking back at me, and while I saw how much pain it caused brother to even draw a simple breath, he clearly recognized me and everything around him.

"Ni-san…" I whispered, voice choked by emotions welling up inside me.

An exhausted shadow of a smile showed on his face, though to me it seemed far more haunted than self-assured, and he uttered: "… I did it…"

I wondered, what he thought. Pride, to have finally accomplished what was deemed impossible? Regret, because he hadn't managed earlier?

It broke my heart, seeing him like this and I wished mom was still alive to hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright. He could always reassure me, but who would do the same for him?

I tried my best, still – to Ed I'm the younger brother, will always be, and thus he will never look to me for support or anything, not even when he should. I'm more than willing to offer whatever strength I possess.

"Ni-san…" I uttered, helpless on my knees beside him. Tentatively I reached out with those huge leather gauntlets, only to falter in the last second, hanging my head with regret.

I couldn't touch him.

Not now, when I had no idea how serious his injuries were, not when I might unintentionally hurt him even worse.

Might kill him …

Shuddering I wanted to draw back completely, had I not seen a small, pale hand resting on my metal arm. Shaking and sprinkled with blood, and Ni-san was seeking out my face.

"Al…" he whispered, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I'll…"

In the aftermath I'm glad he fainted right then. Right before he could burden himself with another promise, when his health was already that precarious.

Though, at that moment, I panicked.

Because I was unable to tell whether he was still breathing, if he had a fever or was too cold – I wanted to help so badly, and it hurt my heart to be unable to do anything.

Because of this, more than anything else, I dearly want my body back.

* * *

It was almost two weeks later, that I finally found out what exactly had transpired. Ed had been resting in an artificial coma for ten days, the doctors claiming that this was his only option for healing.

Hawkeye had come at the break of dawn on the first day, white-faced and exhausted, looking as if she hadn't slept at all.

"Good morning, Alphonse." And that strong voice had sounded so forlorn, empty.

"Lieutenant…" I replied, insecure. Her hands were shaking, and there were tears in her eyes when she approached brother's bedside. Only her hitched breaths cut through the oppressive silence.

"Will… will he…" she finally gasped, not daring to look at me.

"The doctors said he's probably going to be alright." I supplied, uneasy. A small sigh of relief, but the tension didn't leave Riza's shoulders.

"And … and…"

It scared me to see her struggling to express her feelings. Struck a chord deep within me; made me feel so small and helpless.

I was so used to looking up to Lieutenant Hawkeye, to see her composed and collected, not falling apart in a hospital. Reality shouldn't look like this.

A deep breath and she hung her head.

"I'm so sorry, Alphonse. Honestly, I…"

Faltering, eyes fixed on brother's still form.

She wasn't apologizing to me, I realized. It was Ed she meant, though for some reason she felt unable to speak the words – but that wouldn't keep me from replying in brother's stead.

"There's no need to apologize for anything, Lieutenant."

She gasped, only half-turning into my direction, tears shining in the hospital lamp's cold glow.

"Really."

I tried to smile, but a seven-foot armour can't do that.

"But…" ,she whispered, before regaining an ounce of control, "But … the transmutation… It shouldn't have been possible, should it? Like with Nina – nobody had been able to do anything back then, but now, all of a sudden…?!"

She had a point; a point that had been gnawing at the borders of my consciousness for some time. A half-formed idea I didn't dare pondering on; even though my subconsciousness had long since drawn all the conclusions.

"I don't understand a lot of Alchemy, Alphonse. But there are two very distinct things I understand; and that is, that whatever restored me was a human transmutation and if anybody ever finds out all hell will break loose. Secondly, the Equivalent Exchange."

Desperate, yet strong eyes found mine.

"Edward had to loose a limb for your soul – but what was the price for my body?"

* * *

After two days, I couldn't bear being in the same room with Edward. Ghastly pale, unmoving and hooked up to dozens of blinking, beeping machines, looking far too small and too frail – so unlike his boisterous, loud-mouthed self.

I fled and found myself visiting the adjoining room hosting Mustang. The Colonel was still so very weak, but healing nicely. His recovery had been termed a miracle – he should have been dead long before he had been admitted.

Mustang spend the little time he wasn't unconscious worrying. I somehow felt he blamed himself for the entire fiasco and the only thing that kept him from hovering at Ed's bedside, was the fear of intruding.

Or perhaps something even deeper.

The way he looked at me had changed. Not outwardly, no, to visiting officers he could still be smooth, calm-minded Colonel Mustang – but I knew it was all a farce. Had seen him almost burst in tears the first time Hawkeye visited him.

He'd been barely conscious back then, heavily drugged and too weak to do more than lift a hand. But it hadn't stopped him from apologizing, agonized and wheezing, but not stopping before every word had been said. Voice shaking with this hauntingly deep sort of regret, as if he knew that nothing would ever be enough to make up for what had happened.

Riza had listened, silently, torn on the inside.

There was no reason for the Colonel to feel guilty on her part, she'd responded eventually, she'd come out alright in the end; and it hadn't been his responsibility in first place.

Obviously, those reassuring words weren't enough to chase the darkness and guilt from their eyes.

Unresolved remained the issue concerning my brother and neither dared to broach the subject. Not, as long as Edward laid, pale and barely breathing, only a few rooms away; not when nobody knew what the gate had taken from him in exchange.

The nagging fear in all of us, the question only Ed would be able to answer – the question silently driving us all insane with worry.

What had been the price?

* * *

That's it for today…

Hope you enjoyed reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Not mine

**AN: **This was last edited in December 2007. I apologize for spelling mistakes and inaccuracies (regarding especially the at that time not concluded manga), but as I recently discovered these files on an old hard drive, I decided to post them in order to complete this story. Thank you for reading so far! :-)

* * *

**The Longest Night**

IV.

- Equal Exchange –

That afternoon saw all the other officers passing by. Fuery and Breda leaving a vast amount of chocolate behind, together with their best wishes and that helpless expression on their faces. Havoc smuggled in a huge bottle of some alcoholic beverage, grinning mischievous as usual as he suggested he'd bring an entertainment girl the next time – but his voice sounded hollow.

Falman brought flowers and Mr. Hughes a home-made apple pie…

Still, nothing could chase away the sinking feeling. The impression, that this wasn't a usual hospital visit. Not a simple thing that had backfired, not simply a case gone out of hand.

Everyone who'd been there that night knew that this was worse. Knew that Edward had realized the impossible, defied not only laws of this country, but also those of nature.

Committed an unforgivable act for the sake of a superior officer.

I could read the admiration plainly in their eyes; that even though they had known Ed's spiteful words concerning the military and Mustang not to be true, nobody had expected him to do something like this.

Hadn't expected him to care so much.

* * *

Day seven saw Colonel Mustang leaving bed against orders, swaying and barely able to stand upright, but dragging himself across the corridor. I trudged after him, tense, yet admiring – he reminded me a lot of brother at that moment; trying to present a cool façade outwards and far too stubborn to give up.

His face was shining with sweat when he finally sank into a chair besides Ed's bed.

"Alphonse… he, Fullmetal, … is he…"

"The doctors say he's going to be okay."

Leaning back, Mustang closed his eyes, sagging in relief and couldn't suppress a whispered: "Thank God."

Unable to hold back my silent amusement further, I replied: "God? I thought you were an atheist, Colonel?"

Blinking in confusion and disbelief, Mustang turned to me. As if searching for an answer to an unasked question; or rather, searching for any indication, whether I was blaming him.

Though, no matter how good the Colonel is at reading people; reading an armor is another affair entirely.

"I… yes, but…"

It was almost cute, the way he struggled to regain his footing.

But there were still those deep lines etched into his face, the sickly pallor and the plain exhaustion, all urging me to relent.

"Never mind," I shrugged, as good as I could.

A raised eyebrow, Mustang turned back to my brother, frowning. Silence descended, and with it returned the graveness of the situation, enfolding us like a smothering blanket.

"He doesn't look very healthy," Mustang offered, hesitantly.

"He's improved a lot," I replied.

Edward was still as pale as the sheets, with a stained bandage wrapped securely around his head, a breathing tube and lacking his automail. But at least he was resting – and even if not discernible to the usual eye, I had observed some small improvements.

He wasn't looking as haunted as before; hollowed out cheeks had started filling again; the badges underneath his eyes had finally disappeared and his breathing had evened out.

Still, to anybody who hadn't seen him a week prior, he had to look like hell warmed over.

Mustang swallowed thickly, looking as if about to start on and self-imposed guilt-trip.

"Still…" he muttered, "He shouldn't…"

"Be here." I finished in my head. True, Edward shouldn't be here. Neither me, for that matter; and probably also the Colonel. Ed and I were supposed to be back at Liesenburgh, with Winry, mother and father.

Nothing of this should ever have happened.

"Alphonse…" Once again, Mustang interrupted my contemplations before they turned too bitter, "Please tell me… After Fullmetal restored Riza… what…?"

He'd been conscious, back then, I remembered. Barely so, and dizzy from blood loss, so his memories had to be blurred and unreliable.

"His heart wasn't beating, back then."

I couldn't keep my voice from shaking. Didn't want to recall that horrible night, the way Ed's body had arched under the desperate ministrations of Hawkeye and Fury; how damned close it had been…

Leveling a thoughtful gaze onto those black eyes I saw concern and a shadow of well-veiled fear – and was intrigued. What did the Colonel remember that scared him so badly? Did he perhaps…

And all of a sudden I had an epiphany that left me stunned.

* * *

Day eleven and Edward finally woke up. Not long and drugged so heavily, that I wondered if he actually realized what was happening around him, yet an invisible weight dropped from my shoulders. Only seeing those golden eyes open again soothed my upset mind – and my fears the gate could have taken something vital from him.

There had been enough silent, lonely nights for my mind to come up with the most gruesome ideas – perhaps he had exchanged his heart for real, this time. Or his mind, memories – who knows what kind of perverted tokens the gate might consider equal to a body restored.

But Edward appeared unchanged – if a bit pale and drawn.

It took another two days for Ed to be lucid enough to finally answer the dreaded question. Hawkeye had more or less spent every free minute at his bedside, frantic with worry and well-hidden guilt.

"Edward…" she whispered, voice awkwardly catching in her throat and I thought there were tears shining in her eyes.

Brother's automatic response to seeing a member of the female gender cry was to bristle, and his entire body remained tense, while the Lieutenant held his hand.

"Ehehe, don't worry…" ,he eventually stammered, trying desperately to downplay the entire affair.

Which wouldn't even have fooled somebody as gullible, as, let's say, Elysa.

"Wasn't that bad…"

Full of disbelief, Hawkeye turned to stare at him – eyes as piercing as any bullet would have been.

"Not that bad?! Edward, honestly, I may not understand a lot about Alchemy, but you always spoke of equal exchange – so don't tell me there was no price this time!"

Brother, naturally, caved. Carelessly waving a hand...

"Oh, I got a good deal this time, nothing to worry about. Just a pinch of blood or two did …"

"WHAT?"

Thank God that weren't my real ears. That woman's screech would have damaged them beyond salvation; and brother had retreated as far into the pillow propping him up as possible. Still, that wide-eyed, shocked impression was a welcome innovation.

She drew herself up, trying to calm herself.

"Edward Elric."

Heaven help, she sounds like teacher… all would be lost should those two ever meet…

"Never ever again say something like that again! I saw the doctor's reports! That was more than one pinch of blood! You were … you were…"

And here she faltered, recalling that horrid night, how still that small body had been in her arms. The incredible fear that had gripped her back then, the idea that perhaps this child's precious life had been paid to restore her…

And the terrible guilt that had surged up, threatening to swallow her sanity from within…

Brother somehow managed to grasp the Lieutenant's sentiments.

"Ah…" he said, smiling softly, as if trying to dispel that blood-freezing image of those moments when he'd lain on the floor, not breathing and without a heartbeat,

"But I'm okay now…"

_tbc_

* * *

_And the next chapter shall follow immediately. :-)  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**AN:** Well, this was written back in 2007 (time does pass fast...) and as such is naturally not up to date, neither with the conclusion to the manga, nor my current writing style. As a matter of fact, I found this chapter on an external harddrive, and decided to post it. Meaning: I did not check for mistakes. Still, if you find them, feel free to point them out - chances are, I did not learn otherwise during those last five years. ;-)

tl;dr: Enjoy ^_^

* * *

**The Longest Night**

V.

- Family –

The next visit was made by Colonel Mustang, even though he had orders to remain in bed until the doctors permitted him otherwise. Well, honestly, though, I think nobody had really expected him to stick to the rules.

The door almost flew off its hinges, admitting the Colonel, seething and panting as if he'd just run here all the way from Central. Though, I was glad to see his face another colour that chalk-white, there remained all those barely hidden bandages wrapped around his head and chest.

"Fullmetal!" he roared, voice back to usual volume, and I shrank back.

Edward, dizzy as he was, tried sitting up straighter, but sank back against the pillow at once, far too weak to do anything but keep his eyes open.

"Colon'l?" he slurred, blinking and I carefully rested a hand on his shoulder. Brother had no energy to spare; shouldn't get upset, not when could hardly stay awake for more than two hours.

Mustang took no heed of anything, he charged straight and grabbed Ed by his lapels, before I managed to get a word in.

"YOU IDIOT!"

The sheer volume almost blew me off of the bed, ringing in my head,

Brother's eyes cleared immediately; but the way his breath hitched did nothing to alleviate my worries.

"What the hell were you thinking, eh? What… what in the seven hells did you think you would accomplish?! What, what made you do something so, so, so incredibly stupid?"

And what the hell had sent he normally detached Colonel in such a fit of rage that he was reduced to sputtering?

Golden eyes widened with confusion, yet lucid comprehension.

Dear me, did I actually see an incensed spark growing in brother's eyes? Wouldn't bide well.

"You foolish child, just what did you think would happen? Counting on a miracle, or what? Suddenly gone insane?!"

And brother's left hand emerged, grabbing the Colonel's arm – shaking, but firm. And from the grim set of Ed's face I could tell he had his share to say to the Colonel, too.

"What would you have had me do, stupid Colonel?" he hissed, voice hoarse from misuse, while glaring fiercely enough to make more than up for the lack in volume.

The Colonel's eyes narrowed.

"To use your brain would have been an idea," He replied, leaning forward.

"I did."

"Not enough, obviously. Or are you really that dim-witted?"

Fuming by now, brother leaned in, too. "Not as much as you, useless!"

Ouch. Whatever point there might have been had no been lost to the sole purpose of goading each other.

"Perhaps a short attention span is at fault, then?"

… thought you knew better, Mustang…

The explosion, of course, was inevitable. Even with one arm, one leg and bandages wrapped around the majority of his body, Ed's flailing was nothing short of spectacular.

Mustang sat back, heaving a sigh, before quietly interrupting.

"Edward."

The solemn, serious tone was enough to make brother falter.

"What?" Well, it wasn't enough to quell the resentment, but it was a start.

Mustang seemed to steel himself and I held my breath. Whatever he was about to say cost him dearly, whatever it might be, to him it was of high importance and that alone was enough to make my non-existent heart miss a beat.

"While we're … while you did perform some sort of an alchemical miracle… Promise me, you'll never do something like this again!"

Brother's eyes widened dramatically, a strange expression, somewhere between shock, astonishment and indigence crossed his face.

"But I…" he started, voice catching awkwardly.

"But you…?"

Mustang prompted, a false shadow of his usual smirk playing around his lips. A pretence, but whose sake if was for I didn't know.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye… she would have…"

The horror was too fresh, the images still too painful to find proper wording. I saw the paleness on Ed's face and knew he remembered that fateful night five years ago; or perhaps he thought of Nina…

There were enough burdens resting on those frail shoulders already, and thankfully, Colonel Mustang also understood this.

"She would have remained a chimera and either taken away to some laboratory or suffered a similar, unpleasant fate."

Edward gazed expectantly. Wondering, perhaps, why the Colonel protested against his actions when it was so obvious what would have happened otherwise.

"Still, it was a human transmutation. Forbidden and dangerous. And no, I won't tell anybody, but don't ever do it again. What if it hadn't worked out…? If something had gone wrong? Riza and I … well, I won't deny that you probably spared us a lot of grieve, but still… "

"I … I saved her, didn't I?"

A reluctant smile. "You did. And I don't think anybody else could have accomplished that. But what if something had happened to you in the process? What then? What about Alphonse?"

That did it.

Edward lowered his head, bangs shadowing his face, hiding how it scrunched up with guilt. I hated how gullible my brother was, how that argument was always exploited – but this time I agreed with Mustang; because if brother refused to take care of himself you had to force him to via subtlety.

And Mustang did something completely unexpected. He reached out and ruffled Ed's hair in an unpreceeded gesture of affection.

"You shouldn't save anybody at the risk of your own life or put it on the line like that. Nobody here wants you to do that, no matter how cruel the alternative. Not, when there is something else you still have to achieve."

Another word and I would have started crying. The soft smile, brother's wide eyes – dear god, when had we forgotten that there were people who cared?

I could remember mother being concerned for our wellbeing, father, too, though those memories were distant and blurry. Pinako and Winry of course, but everybody else – I had always assumed those were professional relationships, nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps with a slightly more indulgent note because of brother's age…

… but somehow we had completely overlooked that behind those smirks, taunts and well-veiled advices lay true affection.

Had I possessed a body, I would have been laughing, while crying.

Dear mother, don't be angry wherever you are – but somewhere along the line, we had obviously acquired a second family.

One that was a bit screwed up, where emotions were expressed via taunts, bullets or sarcasm; still…

A family, after all.

FIN

^^;


End file.
